Easel



a. E. NICHOLS EASEL May 31, 1949.

' Filed Feb. 7, 1946 7 6071307045, AZ ZZ)Z,0,J5

. storage. I

When the body portion of the easel, is made Patented May 311, 1949 D STATES 2,471,536 .EASEL Gordon E. Nichols, Middleboro, Mass., assignor to 'Wir'ithrop-Atkins 00., Inc., Middleboro, Mass, a corporationof Massachusetts Application, February 7, 1946, Serial No. 646,114

'4 Claims.

This invention pertains to supports in particular to folding easels such, for example, as are employed as mounts for photographs, etc. Such material, for instance cardboard, wood veneer, sheet metal, etc., and usually comprise a body portion of extended area, and the article to be exhibited, that is to say, the photograplncalendar, or the like, is attached or otherwise mounted on the front side of this body portion. A leg is arranged at the rear side of the body portion and diverges downwardly from the latter, there- ,by hOlding the body portion (with its lower edge resting upon a support, for example a table top) in upright, slightly inclined position. tomarily the leg is hinged or similarly attached to the body portion to permit the body portion and leg to be folded compactly for shipment or of cardboard or the like, itis customaryto make it by assembling several pliesof the material in registering relation, and uniting them to form a sufficientl heavy and stiff support, this plied arrangement facilitating the provision of a recess, for instance in the forward face of the boclyportion, for the insetting of the photograph, calendar or the like. When so made ofplied material the leg is customarily hinged to the rear ply. 1:1,, order to hold the leg and bodyfportion in the desired downwardly divergent relation of use, it

is customary to provide a brace member designed to unite the body portion and leg at a substantial distance from the hingeaxis. Desirably thisv brace, when arranged in the operative position, should be firmly held so that it will not slip and permit collapse of the easel. 'Onxthe other hand, it is desirable that the brac'ebe easily released at will so as to permit the easel to be is to provide an easel having a leg and brace both of whichif desired may be integrallyunited to the body portiorror to the rear-ply of the latter, if the body portion be of plied construction. A

'Cusfurther object is to provide an easel having a leg and brace which may be so constructed that, when folded, both leg and brace lie wholly within the thickness of the body portion or the rear'ply thereof, the rear ply of the'body portion, 'theleg and the brace being integral parts of xthesame piece of sheet material. A further object is 'to' provide an easel having a body portion (or the rear ply of the body portion) integrally joined with the leg and brace and so designed thatithey may be formed by a simple die cutting operation and without producing any substantial amount of waste. Other and further objects and advantages of the invention will be pointed out in'the following more detailed description and "by reference to the accompanying drawings, wherein Fig. 1 is a rear view of the easel with the parts folded;

Fig. v2 is a perspective view, to larger scale, showing the easel in position for use with the leg extended and the brace in operative position;

.Fig. 3 is a fragmentar section, to larger scale,

to illustrate the interlocking engagement 'of 'the brace and leg; and

Fig. 4 is a view similar to Fig. 1, but illustrating .a modification.

Referring to the drawings, the numeral l designates the rear body ply of the easel, as-

suming that the body portion comprises more than one ply. If the body portion be of single ply construction, then the part I constitutes the entire body portion. Howeven'as above sug- ,gested, it is common, in easels of this general body portion of the easel is immaterial.

As here illustrated, the leg is of substantially inverted U-shape, having the substantially parallel spaced limbs 5 and 6 united at their made from a stiif sheet material such as cardboard, this leg may be formed by suitable incising 'theply l, for example by means of an'appropriate die, the incisions extending completely through the ply I. Preferably a semi-circular notch 9 isl'formed in the lower edge of the leg t to permit the introduction of the fingernail for swinging the lower end of the leg rearwardly out of the plane of the member I.

The upper ends of the limbs and 6 of the leg remain integrally united to the part I, but preferably the material is scored along the lines ii) to facilitate bending at these points, so that the leg may swing rearwardly about the lines 10, as hinges.

The material H of the body ply which intervenes between the spaced upper portions of the limbs 5 and 6, remains within the plane of the body member I, the inner edges of the limbs 5 and 6 being defined by the incisions I2 and 13. This fixed part II terminates about midway between the plane of the hinge lines H3 and the lower edge of the leg, its lower end being defined by one or more score lines IS. The incisions l2 and I3 extend downwardly below the score lines [6 to define a brace member ill, the score lines l6 defining a hinge about which this brace may swing. The brace ll has a downwardly directed tab I8 and 19, at its respective lower corners, these tabs having arcuate edges and being so shaped as to provide notches 2t and 21 (Fig. 3), respectively, in their opposing edges. The limbs 5 and 6 of the leg have openings 22 and 23 (here shown as circular) with their centers in a horizontal plane slightly below the plane of the score lines Hi, the tabs and openings being so dimensioned and horizontally spaced that when the tabs are pushed through the respective openings the material 24 and 25 constituting the inner borders of the openings, snaps into the notches 20 and 2|, thereby interlocking the brace and leg.

When the easel is to be used, the lower part of the leg 4 is swung rearwardly, as shown in Fig. 2, about the hinge lines H3, and then the brace member H is swung rearwardly about the hinge defined by the score lines it, and the tabs l8 and I9 are projected through the openings 22 and 23. When thus projected through the openings, the notches 20 and 2|, at opposite sides of the brace member I I, engage the material 24 and 25 at the edges of the openings 22 and 23, thus forming locking elements which prevent the leg 4 from swinging either forwardly or rearwardly. The leg is thus held securely in position so that there is no danger that the easel will collapse during use. On the other hand, by pushing the tabs I8 and I9 forwardly and out of the holes 22 and 23, the brace and the leg may be folded down fiat, so as to lie within the plane of the substance of the part i, the leg being housed within the chamber 26 (Fig. 2) and the brace within the chamber 21, thus making the easel very compact for shipment or storage.

While as herein illustrated the leg 4 and the brace I l are integral with the member 1, it is contemplated as within the scope of the invention to make them as independent parts and to connect them by appropriate hinge means to the part 1. Thus, as illustrated in Fig. 4, the leg 4 and and brace H are formed integral with a piece I of sheet material, with score lines at 19 and I6, and the piece l is subsequently fixed to the back member, in any suitable manner, for instance by means of adhesive and/or staples, rivets, or the like, as indicated at S. In this modified construction, the leg and brace do not lie within the plane of the member 1 when folded.

While desirable embodiments of the invention have been shown by way of example, it is to be 4 understood that the invention is broadly inclusive of any and all modifications falling within the scope of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. An easel comprising a body ply, a leg and a brace, the leg and brace being hinged at their upper ends to said body ply, the body ply having a chamber in which the leg and brace are housed when the easel is folded, the brace having laterally spaced tabs at its lower end, said tabs having locking elements and the leg having laterally spaced openings of such dimensions as freely to receive said tabs, the locking elements of said tabs being seated in locking engagement with the material bordering the openings by the natural resilience of the brace.

2. An easel comprising a body ply, a leg and a brace, the leg and brace being hinged at their upper ends to said body ply, the body ply having a chamber in which the leg and brace are housed when the easel is folded, the brace having laterally spaced tabs at its lower end, said tabs having notches in their opposed edges, and the leg having spaced apertures therein of such dimensions as freely to receive said tabs for engagement of the notches with the material bordering the apertures thereby to lock the leg and brace in operative position.

3. An easel comprising a body ply, a leg and a brace, the leg being of inverted U-shape and being hinged to the body ply at its upper end, the brace being housed within the lower portion of the leg when the easel is not in use and having a downwardly directed tab at each of its respective lower'corners of generally circular contour, the leg having a pair of circular openings therein corresponding in diameter to the major diameter of the circular portions of the tabs into which the tabs of the brace may freely be introduced and drawn down by the natural resilience of the brace to engage a cord of the tab with a corresponding cord of the opening thereby to hold the leg in operative position.

4. An easel comprising a body ply, a leg and a brace, the leg being of substantially inverted U-shape and comprising substantially parallel limbs integrally hing-ed at their upper ends to the body ply, the upper end of the brace also being integrally hinged to the body ply at a point below the hinge axis of the leg, the brace having laterally spaced tabs with oppositely directed notches in their opposed edges, and the leg having spaced apertures therein the spacing of which corresponds to that of the tabs, said apertures having edge portions engageable with said notches solely by reason of the natural resilience of the brace thereby to hold the brace and leg in operative position.

GORDON E. NICHOLS.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date Re. 9,281 Wright July 6, 1880 547,377 Gillibee Oct. 1, 1895 673,904 Hartman May 14, 1901 812,993 Harper Feb. 20, 1906 1,803,511 Shanholtzer May 5, 1931 2,172,273 Chilcote Sept. 5, 1939 2,240,208 Cross Apr. 29, 1941 

